Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

News Notes for Ford Library Researchers - 2005

November 30, 2005: The Library has completed the review and opening of 500 pages of documents from the Melvin Laird Papers relating to the development of the all-volunteer armed forces as a replacement for the military draft during Mr. Laird's tenure as Secretary of Defense, 1969-1973. In addition, the staff declassified and opened the calendars (lists and descriptions of documents, but not the actual documents) for Secretary Laird's files on drug abuse in the military, the EC-121 incident (the downing of an American plane by North Korea), equal opportunity and race relations in the military and the Department of Defense, F-15 procurement, Indo-China, Korea, Laos, and Vietnam. These calendars can be used to submit Mandatory Review requests for the possible declassification of the documents on the lists.
September 15, 2005: Deadline for the Gerald R. Ford Foundation Research Travel Grants.
August 30, 2005: The Library has completed the arrangement of the Barry N. Roth Files. The collection concerns his work on legal matters in the Office of the Counsel to the President, especially in the areas of information and access (Freedom of Information, Nixon Papers, declassification, etc.) and political affairs (Federal Election Commission rulings and decisions, allocation of trip expenses, etc.). Included are folders he inherited from Associate Counsel William Casselman, folders turned over to him by Counsel to the President Philip Buchen, entire series on political travel and White House Special Files administration that he took over from other White House staff members, and Executive Protective Service appointment records concerning visitors to the Ford vice presidential offices and those of the Rockefeller Commission. Only a few folders in the collection have been reviewed for opening so far, but the other folders can be added to the Review-for-Access Queue upon request. For more details on the collection, view its finding aid.
August 1, 2005: The Library has processed and opened an additional 32 feet of material in the Robert M. Teeter Papers. The collection concerns his work as a leader in survey research and his work as a key campaign strategist for Republican presidential, gubernatorial, and senatorial candidates, including Richard Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign, Gerald Ford’s 1976 campaign, and George H. W. Bush’s 1992 re-election campaign (of which he was the national chairman). For more details on the collection, view its finding aid.
June 15, 2005: The Library has completed the processing of the collection National Security Adviser. "Outside the System" Chronological File. The collection contains documents which were not logged into the NSC computer control number tracking system because of the high sensitivity or routine nature of their content, or because of their time sensitivity. The documents cover a wide range of topics, including nuclear test ban and arms control treaty negotiations, arms sales, military assistance to Israel, the Middle East peace process, Angola, U.S. relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba, and reorganization of the intelligence community. Because of the large number of highly classified documents dealing with sensitive issues, this collection has a lower percentage of items declassified than other recently opened Ford Library National Security Adviser collections. Researchers can request access to materials that remain closed through the mandatory declassification review process. For more details on the collection, view its finding aid.
June 10, 2005: The Library has completed the processing of the Paul Miltich Papers. The collections concerns his work as Press Secretary to Vice President Ford and Special Assistant to the President for Public Affairs. For more details on the collection, view its finding aid.
June 10, 2005: Erika Franklin Fowler wins first annual Gerald R. Ford Scholar Award in Honor of Robert M. Teeter.
June 1, 2005: The Library completed a finding aid for the records of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Puerto Rico. View the finding aid.
May 19, 2005: The Library announced the list of recipients of Gerald R. Ford Foundation Research Travel Grants from the spring meeting of the grants screening committee.
May 1, 2005: Deadline for the "Gerald R. Ford Scholar Award (Dissertation Award) in Honor of Robert Teeter." For more information about the Award contact Brooke Clement.
April 28, 2005: The Library has completed arrangement and description of the Melvin Laird Papers. The collection spans Mr. Laird’s distinguished career, especially from 1961 onward. Prominent topics include the 1964 Republican Party platform; the 1964,1968, and 1972 presidential campaigns; Congressional Republicans in the 1960s; the Vietnam War; a wide range of Defense Department procurement, planning, and policy issues, both regional and global; many domestic policies; Nixon White House efforts to avoid impeachment; and Mr. Laird’s post-government activities. The collection incorporates files held for many years by Laird assistant William J. Baroody, Jr. Although the staff has completed review of only about half of the collection for opening, folders from many other series can be added to the Review Queue upon request. For more details on the collection, view its finding aid.
April 28, 2005: The Library has completed the archival processing of the Richard Feltner Papers. This small collection contains speeches, including notes, drafts, and press copies, produced by Feltner while serving as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Consumer Services. For more details on the collection, view its finding aid.
January 27, 2005: The Library released details about the new "Gerald R. Ford Scholar Award (Dissertation Award) in Honor of Robert Teeter." This award has been established by the Library and the University of Michigan with gifts from the Teeter Family, the United Parcel Service Corporation, and others. The award of $5,000 will be given annually to support dissertation research on an aspect of the U.S. political process during the latter part of the twentieth century. Award recipients will conduct a portion of their research in the Robert Teeter Papers, 1972-2004, which currently are being processed for partial release. Mr. Teeter, who worked in several Republican presidential campaigns, was one of the nation's foremost public opinion analysts. See a detailed description of the award.
January 6, 2005: The 1973-75 records of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Puerto Rico have been transferred to the Ford Library from the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. The Group, created jointly by the U.S. President and the Governor of Puerto Rico, explored self-government and self-determination within the framework of Commonwealth. The records transfer was a collaboration between NARA units based, in part, on the presence of very closely related material in the Ford White House files. The new materials continue to be considered Federal records that are part of Record Group 220.
January 6, 2005: The National Archives announced the appointment of Elaine K. Didier as the next Director of the Ford Library and Museum.

See News Notes for Ford Library Researchers for the year 2004